Rail car switching operations, for example, at a train yard, may involve maneuvering locomotives in an area crowded with other locomotives, railcars, and/or people. These operations may require a locomotive engineer to operate the locomotive, and at least one other person, for example, a switchman, on the ground to operate track switches and railcar cut levers. The engineer and the switchman may communicate with each other by radio and/or visual signals during the switching operations.
Typically, the engineer on board the locomotive can control the operations of the locomotive. These operations may include moving the locomotive in a forward or rearward direction and stopping the locomotive when desired. If the engineer becomes incapacitated or distracted, however, the engineer may not be able to stop a moving locomotive in a timely manner.
One attempt to address the problems described above is disclosed in International Patent Application Publication No. WO 99/05015 of Coombes that was published on Feb. 4, 1999 (“the '015 publication”). In particular, the '015 publication discloses a connection unit adapted to be connected to the train line and brake line connectors of a locomotive as part of a remote control system for the locomotive. The '015 publication further discloses that the connection unit may include a receiver for receiving remote control instructions, and a microprocessor to interpret the received remote control instructions and control the locomotive according to the remote control instructions. The '015 publication also discloses that the connection unit can apply or release the locomotive's brakes.
Although the '015 publication discloses a system for applying brakes to a locomotive, the disclosed system may still be problematic. For example, the system of the '015 publication may continue to apply tractive power to the wheels of the locomotive while simultaneously applying brakes in response to a remote instruction to stop the locomotive. This may cause excessive wear and tear of the brakes and fraction equipment. Moreover, it may cause the locomotive to continue moving if the brakes on the locomotive fail to operate.
The emergency override system of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.